MISSILE COMMAND "MAXI" TRAK-BALL CONTROLLER
(ALSO USED ON ATARI FOOTBALL)

CONTROLLER UNAVAILABLE      PARTS AVAILABLE

Original (used) Maxi Trak-Ball Assembly Pictured Above

YEAR:  1979

TYPE:  Atari Raster

CONTROLLER:  Trak-Ball  Controller (Maxi)

CONSTRUCTION:  Exact Reproduction Unit.  All-metal housing design.  Glossy 4.5" Ball.

BACKGROUND:  Original design by Atari in 1979.  First used on Atari Football (X's and O's), Atari Baseball, Atari Basketball and Atari Soccer in 1979.  Later used on Missile Command upright and cockpit versions in 1980.  No reproduction units produced to date.  Has been out of production for over a decade.  In recent times, the demand for a new reproduction maxi trak-ball unit has been growing due to failing encoder boards, wearing encoder shafts and badly worn balls.

Note:  Atari originally referred to this as a 4" Trak-Ball which is incorrect.  In reality, it's a 4.5" dia. ball.  We've done the research and checked it twice.  The facts are in and the ball is absolutely 4.5" in diameter.  Now you know.  We're not really sure why all documentation refers to it as 4", but we think it may be because the opening in the top plate of the trak-ball aseembly is approximately 4".  Then again, maybe it was a simple oversight.

STATUS:  PARTIALLY COMPLETE

CONSTRUCTION NOTES:
(Last Updated 07/01/06)

This is our second offering since we've opened up our doors for business.  Our design is an exact replica of the original unit produced by Atari for use in their Atari Football , Baseball and Basketball arcade games and later used in their Missile Command arcade game.   Our design makes use of the same aluminum framing and OEM 4.5" ball.  We had to reproduce the optic board in-house.  The encoder shafts are an upgraded stainless steel version. The OEM ball is made by the original manufacturer and comes in high-gloss, which is original specification.  It's been so long since anyone has seen one of these in new condition, nobody seems to recall that they were originally high-gloss.

The frame of the controller is simple, so construction was a breeze.  Our prototype unit looks and function exactly like the original controller and no faults in design were observed at this point in time.  Everything appears to be perfect, so final production has been approved.

Reproducing the encoder wheel was a big concern due to it's unusual shape.  Price point on this component was excessive, so an alternate construction method was devised to lower production cost.

The encoder board was another concern right from the beginning.  We designed an exact replica of the board and was able to locate all of the necessary components for production, except for one.  You guessed it, the optical coupler made by Optron/Optek/Honeywell.  We attempted to use off the shelf parts and we succeeded.  However, the parts cost was excessive, so we reconsidered our options.  Eventually, we came to the conclusion that we could have the part reproduced exactly to spec. at a lower price point.  So, the encoder boards are pretty much an exact replica, all the way down to the optical coupler.

There was some concern over the manufacturing cost and material of the ball, but we were able to locate the original manufacturer which allowed us to produce an exact production ball for the controller.  Essentially, the ball is OEM.

This project is currently still in production, though we have made the 4.5" ball and encoder shafts available at this point in time so existing units may be serviced.